Islam:Prayer

In Islam, there are five daily obligatory prayers for all Muslims. Many Muslims find salat the most important part of their faith, because of its frequency and depth. It is done first to glorify Allah, and second to realign the individual with Allah's will.

Salat begins with ablution, purification washing of the hands and face. Prayer is divided into repetitions of rak'as: standing, bowing, sitting, prostrating, quoting the Qur'an, and reciting prayers. Each prayer is begun by the adhan, the call to prayer. In Muslim countries, the adhan is recited through the minarets of mosques, the reason they were built.

Prayer is almost always done in collective in the mosque. Though it may be performed anywhere, the reward given by God is greater if done in the mosque. The prayer is led by an imam who stands in front of everyone so that everyone can see him and follow his lead. Everyone behind form rows and columns, with women always behind the men with a curtain between.

The prayers are salat-ul-fair, the morning prayer, salat-ul-zuhr, the noon prayer, salat-ul-asr, the afternoon prayer, salat-ul-maghrib, the evening prayer, and salat-ul-isha, the night prayer. The prayers are not identical, some are longer than others. Muslims may choose to extend their prayers as they wish. The times are in accordance with the position of the sun, so the times do not stay the same.

The Qibla, direction of salat points to the Kaaba in Mecca, thus every Muslim faces the same point. And because the prayers are at different times on the earth, the prayers never stop. Originally the Qibla faced Jerusalem, but was later changed.

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